Brian Dennert here

( Local political activist Carole Lutness with John Garamendi.)

Fresh from winning a seat in the House last Tuesday John Garamendi has endorsed Susan Jordan for State Assembly.

Two House seats were up for election last Tuesday night. One in New York where a Democrat won a district represented by Republicans since the Civil War era and one here in California that was represented by a moderate Democrat.

John Garamendi has long been supported by progressive Democrats for supporting progressive causes and candidates across the state. With the newly elected Democrat from New York Barack Obama has two new supporters in the House for his healthcare insurance reform proposals.

It took real effort for Republicans to lose that seat from New York but they joined forces against their own candidate. Far right blogger Michelle Malkin got it going by calling the Republican nominee a "radical leftist" and other bloggers took it from there. When Sarah Palin and Fred Thompson joining the attack on the Republican nominee the stage was set for a Democratic victory. It took the combined forces of Palin, Beck, and other fringe conservatives to lose this campaign. They even made Newt Gingrich look like a moderate!

Susan Jordan should be proud of this endorsement. John Garamendi will be a strong addition to her list of supporters.

Click on continue reading for the press release.

He mentions Rep. Gallegly right around the 7 minute mark. Rep. Grayson has been attacking Republicans for being obstructionist. Now he is reading the names of Republican House Members and the projected numbers of people that die from not having health insurance by district.

I would like to see Rep. Capps and Rep. Gallegly debate health care insurance reform even though it appears to be a moot point since Rep. Cantor of Virginia has already pledged to a crowd of tea party activists that Gallegly will vote no.

Gallegly is not a part of the debate over healthcare insurance reform. He won't hold town hall meetings ( even though Republican Rep. McKeon and Democratic Rep. Capps have already held healthcare townhall meetings) and he has already removed himself from any negotiations by letting it be known he isn't open to compromise.

Check out the final online poll results:

For the Ventura Unified School District Mary Haffner won the poll with Monique Dollone close behind. Velma Lomax and John Walker were almost tied after them. I predict that all of the incumbents will be re-elected.

Phil Mechanick won the online poll with Mike Gibson, Ed Summers, and Neal Andrews all in the top.

I think that all of the incumbents will be re-elected to the Ventura City Council.

The poll is not scientific but it does measure the intensity supporters have towards a candidate. Neal Andrews might be the lightning rod in this election but he doesn't need a majority of voters to back him when there are so many people running. I expect his name ID, record, and incumbency to protect him.

Neal Andrews was the target of the union that represents police officers. I don't know if any specific candidate disproportionally benefited from them. With two other candidates with law enforcement backrounds I believe he will win. If there is any surprise it would be a single incumbent not being re-elected. In that case Mike Tracy might win. Next time if the police union coordinates their efforts with a party or slate it might be more effective.

The Star posted a final pre-election story on Monday.

Of course I live in Simi Valley and I don't see how many signs are up for each candidate nor do I get many reports on the mailers that people get. The police union didn't send me a mailer to post nor did any of the other candidates.

I make no recommendations or endorsements because I have confidence the people of Ventura can figure out what they want without me. I don't have any particular insights to share that a reasonably informed voter wouldn't be aware of before they voted.

Thank you to Mike Gibson and Monique Dollone for answering questions on my blog. I interviewed Monique Dollone this time and in the past Mike Gibson has released statements or debated with people on my blog.

The union representing Ventura Unified School District staff purchased this ad on The Star's site. I haven't seen much campaign activity recently from the challengers. I will post any mailers or online ads that are sent to me.

I expect all of the incumbents to be re-elected. What are your predictions? I am interested in who my readers think will be the top vote getter and if you think there will be any surprises. Incumbents have an inherent advantage and I haven't seen any of the challengers invest the resources or get the support needed to finish before one of the current board members.

Marie Lakin posted an endorsement of a candidate on her blog. Marie, what are your predictions?

I am also interested in what our newest blogger Eric Ingemunson thinks about the campaign. Eric, has the VCRCC endorsed any candidate for the Ventura Unified School Board? What are your predictions?

This unscientific poll closes Monday night. I will post the winners on the front page through election day.

Click here for a past interview I did with Monique Dollonne.

I have seen some of the candidates placing ads online and took some screenshots to share:

The ads from Cozzen, Sommers, and Monahan were on The Star's website.

The Mike Gibson ad is interesting because he is using a partisan Republican appeal in a city that has a heavy Democratic Party registration advantage. But with so many candidates running a candidate only has to energize a small segment of voters to win.

The Ventura County Star editorial board endorsed only Republicans for the Ventura City Council. Although the council is technically nonpartisan the endorsements by The Star caused The Ventura County Democratic Party to send out a press release to rally Democrats.

Click on continue reading for the email from The Ventura County Democrats.

My unscientific poll continues until Sunday night. I will announce the four winners on the front page and post links to their sites until the polls close.

Check out the posts from Das Williams and Susan Jordan:

First Susan posts that she met Lilly Ledbetter at the recent Ventura County Democratic Party Kennedy Legacy event. Then minutes later Das Williams posts that he too watched the speech.

To summarize:

Susan Jordan posts that she attended the Lilly Ledbetter speech. A few minutes later Das Williams posts that he went to the Lilly Ledbetter speech. Then a few minutes after that Susan Jordan tops him by posting a picture of her with Lilly Ledbetter and announces that she has Ledbetter's endorsement.

Sure it could all be a coincidence but it looked funny to me.

I spoke with Ventura City Manager Rick Cole this afternoon and he wants to blog for The Ventura County Star. If everything goes right I expect his blog to be up in the next few weeks.

Who would you like to see blogging for The Star?

I want to see a group of police officers or firefighters providing insight into their duties. Are you reading this Mr. Hodge?

I created a Facebook fan page for my blog. Please become a fan. I will feature a preferred cause or candidate of my 100th fan on my front page.

The ability for almost everyone to get their ideas out there is great for democracy. Check out this video where this outraged citizen compares the attack on Pearl Harbor to the water rate increases.

What's your biggest complaint your local government isn't adequately addressing?

The Marta Jorgensen campaign sent out a press release announcing their addition of a new field director to their staff.

Click on continue reading for details.

Marta Jorgensen was at the last Simi Valley Democratic Club meeting campaigning. That was a reminder that the district is huge. It goes from Simi Valley all the way to Solvang.

UPDATE: Tim Allison has another endorsement to announce. Click on continue reading for details.

Tim Allison was at the Democratic Club meeting in Simi Valley last Wednesday night. He spoke about why he is the best Democrat for the challenge.

The seat is currently held by Republican Elton Gallegly. If you follow my blog you know my consistent complaint about Rep. Gallegly is that he doesn't like to hold free and scheduled events like town hall meetings. In the last few months the other area members of congress members of both parties have hosted town hall meetings on healthcare. Both Rep. Capps and Rep. McKeon held town hall events on healthcare.

Town Hall Forums are great because politicians are forced to deal with tough questions and their answers are on the record.

I would also like to see Rep. Capps and Rep. Gallegly debate healthcare insurance reform. If I get support for that idea I will call her office and request Rep. Capps challenge Rep. Gallegly. Would you like to see them debate?

Republican State Board of Equalization member criticized the Ventura County Republican Central Committee for escalating the fundraising race for the open seat on the Board of Equalization ( BoE). Here is the post from his blog:

***Party Endorsements Insult Voters***

Our California political system makes party nominees and the party the focus of the November general election. However, for the June primary election the candidates are on their own. Although the state and local parties have the legal power they rarely intervene in a primary fight
and should never do so without some overriding reason where the endorsement helps the party. Never until a week ago when the Ventura County Republican Central Committee endorsed a candidate for my job, and I am told they did so with no candidate debate, and in fact only one candidate invited. I am termed-out of my position on the Board of Equalization and there are 4 candidates pursuing the campaign. There is no reason in the world that the Republican Party voters in the 2nd District should not be allowed to choose their own nominee without party interference. This is an insult to the Republican voters in the 2nd District.

Now Barbara Alby (whom I have endorsed), Alan Nakanishi, and Roy Ashburn will have no political choice but to go after county central committee endorsements. I regret this. It was a dumb and unnecessary move for Ventura County to change the nature of the race. As political activists and campaign law specialists know when the party does endorse then party resources can be spent on their candidate and money can be legally laundered to the party in amounts higher than would be legal for the candidate to accept personally. So the other candidates have no choice now but to go after official party endorsements in other counties. And with 34 counties in the 2nd District every county committee is going to come under pressure. Ventura has unleashed a free-for-all for legal campaign laundering.

http://www.billleonard.org/

Endorsements are critical to communicate with voters for a low visibility position. I understand why candidates would pursue endorsements as a way to send a signal of their values and views. Raising money for a position like this must also be especially difficult. There is always interest group money but that comes with risks. There is money from personal friends but that might not go far enough.

Getting endorsements from party organizations is critical to raise Ideological money in a contested primary. Getting this endorsement will help George Runner introduce himself to voters and will help him raise money. But is Bill Leonard right that the chain reaction is going to be a problem?

Candidate for Ventura County Sheriff Dennis Carpenter came to the Simi Valley/Moorpark Democratic Club meeting tonight to campaign.

Before the meeting I was leaning to voting for Geoff Dean but after this meeting I glad the election isn't soon. Both of the candidates are Republicans but the position is nonpartisan. Campaigning at Democratic Party events is a sign of good faith for both of these candidates that they have a vision of the office as truly being nonpartisan.

I was taking some video and pictures of the meeting and after Dennis Carpenter asked if I was going to post something to YouTube I joked with him that with some creative editing the video now says he voted for Ralph Nader. I was feeling pretty good with my joke when Dennis Carpenter topped it.

Dennis Carpenter said he voted for Ralph Nader. But that's because he went to school with someone named Ralph Nader who ran for student government. Dennis, you topped me. Thanks for coming out to the meeting.

At the start of his speech he was a little stiff but he mixed in a few self-depreciating lines and answered some tough questions. By the end I am sure he won over some voters.
I have pictures to post later this week of the other candidates at the meeting including a new candidate for city council in Simi Valley.